Ronald McDonald House Charities® of the Ohio Valley creates, finds and supports programs that directly improve the health and well-being of children and their families. The Ohio Valley Chapter is part of a global network of local Chapters in 45 countries and regions. Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Ohio Valley keeps families with a sick or injured child close to each other and to the care and resources they need. For families faced with a child’s illness, regular life stops in an instant and parents enter a world of fear and worry. For parents who don’t live close to the medical care their child needs, there is an added stress: distance. Many families have to travel an hour or more for life-saving medical treatments and therapies. Living expenses quickly add up. Families become stressed from long drives, lost jobs, worried siblings, hotel expenses, and being far from family and friends. These are extra burdens no family should have to experience. Imagine having a child in the hospital who is seriously ill or critically injured. Not overnight but for weeks, even months. Worried. Uncertain. Never wanting to leave his or her side. Yet longing to close your eyes, if only for a minute. Comfort of any kind is a blessing — a soft bed, a hot meal, a quiet place to gather your thoughts. But still only minutes from your child. Keeping families close. That’s what Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Ohio Valley does for countless families 365 days a year.